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Sunday, December 10, 2017

2 Samuel 24

You can look these places in the journey up (sort of) on a map. They start by travelling towards modern day Jordan through some places that are not identifiable, into the land of Dan north of Kinnereth, then further north to Sidon where they turn south to Tyre then way south to Beer-sheva, 100 or so km south of Jerusalem. I tried mapping it on Google maps - without much success.

A difficult journey today, and probably difficult in David's time as well.

Verse 1 - what was David doing? In the parallel 1 Chronicles 21, it is an accuser (Hebrew, Satan) who incites David. Could David just want to 'number' (ספר) Israel. The verb here is מנה, portion, apportion, and in a few places (like Qohelet 1:15) I have used fathom. This seems to me to be a credible sin. Otherwise what's the problem with a census (ראשׁ a head count)?

In response to the request to fathom Joab visits and conscripts (פקד, also commonly visit). I have used this verb also in Numbers where tradition has number. As you can see, counting is represented by 4 different stems in the Hebrew. Hence my predicament when dealing with these, whatever they are, shades of 'meaning'.

It is not possible, by the way, to get answers to these kinds of puzzling questions from a 'study Bible'. Most of these simply assume the traditional glosses and fail even to point out the guesswork behind the scenes of the translations. They are about as good for what we need to know from the Bible as a Google map for an ancient journey.

And the king said to Joab, chief of the force that was with him, Rove please among all the sceptres of Israel from Dan and to Beer-Sheva, and conscript the people,
so I may know the count of the people.

And Joab said to the king, May Yahweh your God add to the people as they are, and a hundred times as they are and let the eyes of my lord the king see,
but why does my lord the king delight in this matter?

And the heart of David struck him after so counting the people,
and David said to Yahweh, I have sinned excessively in what I have done, and now Yahweh, let please the iniquity of your servant pass by, for I have been excessively silly.

So Gad came to David and made it clear to him,
and said to him, Will seven years of famine come to you in your land, or three months you withdraw before your foes while he pursues you, or will there be three days pestilence in your land? Now acknowledge and see. What word will I return to him who sent me?

And the angel extended his hand to Jerusalem to destroy, and Yahweh sighed at the evil, and said to the angel, the destroyer among the people, Too much now. Let your hand desist.
And the angel of Yahweh was beside the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Jebusite.

And David said to Yahweh when he saw the angel of striking among the people, and he said, Behold I, I have sinned, and I myself have been perverse, but these, the flock, what have they done?
Let be, if you will, your hand against me, and against the house of my father.

And the king said to Aravnah, No, for buying, I will buy from you at a price, for I should not offer up to Yahweh my God burnt offerings for nothing.
And David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen with fifty shekels of silver.